Activity

  • Beating the Drum for Improved Dynamic Performance, Resiliency and Stability

    Jim Cahill
    When was the last time you thought about your drum level control strategy? If it’s been a while, here are a few reasons why you might want to elevate this on your priority list. The energy landscape has changed as power producers continue their journey toward net-zero. Renewable sources of energy are playing a more prominent role in megawatt generation and this, in turn has implications for conventional power generating…

  • Advanced Process Control for Combined-Cycle Power Plants

    Jim Cahill
    Ranjit Rao , Jon Gillam , and Jim Nyenhuis presented Maximize your Combined Cycle Plant’s Performance with 5 Advanced Applications that Provide the Quickest ROI at the 2023 Ovation Users Group Conference. They opened by sharing some statistics about the challenges with global electrification. Advance control enables greater power plant flexibility to help address some of these challenges. Jim noted a paradox that…

  • Steam Turbine Electro-Hydraulic Control

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Mark Stratton and Tori Winter presented Steam Turbine Electro-Hydraulic Control (EHC) Systems at the 2023 Ovation Users Group Conference. They opened by sharing a description of a steam turbine EHC system. Fluid power components and electronic controls operate the primary steam valves on a steam turbine and includes utility, extraction, and auxiliary turbines. The EHC components consist of a hydraulic power…

  • Optimizing Pump Performance with Measurements and Analytics

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Melanie Novacek presented Ovation Advanced Process Control Pump Performance Algorithm at the 2023 Ovation Users Group Conference. Melanie opened by highlighting the APC Toolkit Pump Performance Algorithm in Ovation 3.8 systems and later. APC Toolkit pump performance algorithm calculates the following for centrifugal pumps based on the ASME Power Test Codes: Efficiency Head – suction, discharge, and total…

  • Power & Water Cybersecurity Tips & Tricks

    Jim Cahill
    Thomas Kizer and Robert Conte presented Power and Water Cybersecurity Suite: Tips & Tricks for Advanced Users at the 2023 Ovation Users Group Conference. The Power and Water Cybersecurity Suite (PWCS) modules collect thousands of data points every minute and enable users to customize how data is displayed to allow for faster reactions to a security incident and prepare the data to be used for compliance properly. Receiving…

  • Better Grid Reliability Starts with Analytics

    Jim Cahill
    As electrical grids get more complex, so too does the task of keeping them online. Grid operators have long had reliability programs, as they are essential to safe operation, but the most effective plants are updating those programs with modern technologies as they are forced to do more with less in the face of changing global market dynamics. At the 2023 Ovation Users’ Group conference , Emerson’s Brian Overton shared…

  • Successfully Bring Renewable Assets Into the Fold

    Jim Cahill
    One of the hottest topics of conversation at the 2023 Ovation Users’ Group conference has been renewables, and much of that conversation has been around the struggle to bring a wide array of disparate renewable assets together into a unified system of control, monitoring, and analytics. Modern power generators need to bring a wide variety of assets together. Finding a simple solution to manage them all from one place…

  • Ovation Users’ Group Power Industry Forum Tackles Modern Challenges

    Jim Cahill
    The power industry session at the 2023 Ovation Users’ Group conference in Pittsburgh took a closer look into the state of the industry, exploring both what is happening broadly in power generation, as well as the impact of the rise of renewables on the way plants and organizations operate. The first session, moderated by Jim Rarey from American Electric Power, focused on the power industry in general. Jim was joined…

  • Modernizing and Simplifying Water Handling for Power Generator

    Jim Cahill
    A power producer shared the story of their successful project to upgrade their generation capacity and modernize their control system and improve communications and control with the wastewater treatment plant supplying water for steam generation. The upgrades included wet compression and duct burners to decrease NOx and CO2 emissions. The upgrade replaced a older DCS with an Ovation system on their steam turbine control…

  • Ovation Users’ Group 2023 Opens with a Look Into the Future

    Jim Cahill
    After three long years, the Ovation Users’ Group is back in person in Pittsburgh in 2023. Bob Yeager opened the conference with an expansive vision for the many ways Emerson will work together with its users to meet a changing future. Change is a central theme in power generation today, so it is no surprise that it is also a central theme for #OvationUG. Bob explained that true change cannot happen without reinvention…

  • Addressing Changing Grids with Technology Innovations

    Jim Cahill
    Rick Kephart presented Ovation Technology and Innovation for the 2020s and Beyond​ at the 2023 Ovation Users Group conference. Rick opened by discussing the Ovation hyper-converged infrastructure, which simplifies virtual systems​. The traditional server and storage silos are collapsed into a simpler, more efficient hyper-converged layer​. This infrastructure eliminates dedicated storage devices, expands server options…

  • Growing Complexity in Power Grids

    Jim Cahill
    The Ovation Users Group Conference kicked off today in Pittsburgh, PA. Emerson’s Jaime Foose and Morgan Lewis presented, When Thermals and Renewables Collide: Meeting the Challenges of an Evolving Power Market. Morgan opened by noting how over the next decade and beyond, the shift to a more diversified energy portfolio is expected to materially accelerate. For energy companies, increased scrutiny from investors, regulators…

  • Optimizing Renewable Energy Asset Operations

    Jim Cahill
    As our energy grids continue to add more renewable sources, the complexity of managing these grids grows greater. In this 10:43 YouTube video, Ovation Green Renewable Asset Management and SCADA Software Technology Demonstration , Emerson’s Brett Benson demonstrates how the built-for-purpose Ovation Green asset management and SCADA software provides a unified view of renewable assets from a single pane of glass, helping…

  • Duke Energy Addresses Attemperator Issues

    Jim Cahill
    Duke Energy’s Heat Recovery Steam Generator Engineer Eugene Eagle and Emerson’s Director of Steam Conditioning Group Justin Goodwin recently published an article in the February 2022 edition of Power Engineering. The article is titled How Duke Energy Addresses Attemperator Issues,  and it describes the deployment of a new steam atomization attemperator design that allowed Duke to reliably and safely run their combined…

  • Improving Water Cycle Energy Reliability

    Jim Cahill
    Water utilities are challenged to reliably produce and distribute safe, drinkable water to the communities they serve. It’s an energy-intensive process to accomplish this. In a North America Clean Energy article, How the Shift to Distributed Energy Resources Impacts the Water-Power-Carbon Nexus , Emerson’s Jason Blackburn shares how: …two major challenges—water scarcity and water quality—are impacting access to clean…

  • Extending the Digital Twin for More Sustainable Power Generation

    Jim Cahill
    Anyone paying attention to power—and probably even those who aren’t—are well aware that the way electricity is generated and delivered is rapidly changing. While the traditional combined cycle power facilities on the generation side we have come to depend on will be with us for a long time, new sustainable sources of renewable and distributed energy such as wind, solar, battery and green hydrogen are changing the grid…

  • Ovation Users’ Conference: Addressing the Needs of Tomorrow’s Markets Today

    Jim Cahill
    Day two of the Ovation Users’ Group conference opened with Jaime Foose , vice president of global sales and marketing for Emerson’s power and water solutions business, sharing how Emerson is addressing the needs of tomorrow’s markets today. Jaime emphasized that everyone is being challenged to make bold changes during these transitional times. We are doing just that by enabling versatile software and subscription models…

  • Ovation Users’ Conference: Reimagining a More Sustainable Tomorrow

    Jim Cahill
    Mark Bulanda , executive president of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business and the keynote speaker for this year’s Ovation Users’ Group opened the conference with a topic that resonated across all speakers: how automation software is helping companies accomplish their commitments to improved performance and, by association, sustainability. Emerson will achieve net zero status by 2045 Mark started by sharing Emerson…

  • Retrofitting Wind Turbine Control for Improved Performance

    Jim Cahill
    The use of wind turbines in the global energy mix continues to grow. According to the International Energy Agency : In 2021 wind electricity generation increased by a record 273 TWh (up 17%). This was 55% higher growth than that achieved in 2020 and was the highest among all renewable power technologies. Such rapid development was possible thanks to an unprecedented increase in wind capacity additions, which reached…

  • Driving Combined Cycle Efficiency Gains

    Jim Cahill
    Combined cycle electrical power generation facilities play an essential role in providing baseload power to the grid. The principle of operation : …is that after completing its cycle in the first engine, the working fluid (the exhaust) is still hot enough that a second subsequent heat engine can extract energy from the heat in the exhaust. Usually, the heat passes through a heat exchanger so that the two engines can…

  • Extending Wind Turbine Useful Lives

    Jim Cahill
    Given the ever-growing presence of wind turbines in the global energy supply mix, what happens to them as they age? In a LinkedIn article, Retrofit: A Second Life for Wind Turbines , Emerson’s Power & Water Solutions business president, Bob Yeager , describes the essential role retrofits play in enhancing wind turbine performance. Bob opens by noting that not only are new developments significant: …but also with an…

  • Evaluating Combustion: Efficiency Alone is Not Enough

    Jim Cahill
    In an Industrial Heating article, Emerson’s Andrew Smith breaks down the complexities of combustion control, and provides a solution Some industrial processes prove to be more complex in actual operation than they first appear. One of the most common is combustion, as applied with boilers, fired heaters, ovens, and the like. Conceptually, it is very easy to understand: mix fuel with air in the right proportion and it…

  • Driving Electrical Power Grid Sustainability

    Jim Cahill
    Let’s wind down this week with a look at the growing complexity in electrical power generation and distribution networks. Advancing technology plays an important role in managing this complexity for grid resiliency and reliability. This 3-minute YouTube video, Emerson Sustainable Grid Solutions shares ways that grids with unpredictable renewable energy can be transformed into predictable, reliable power through real…

  • Microgrid Control Solution for Resilient Performance

    Jim Cahill
    As the northern hemisphere closes in on the winter months, the resiliency of our electrical power grids is a concern, especially here in Texas which experienced significant outages due to extreme cold last winter. In an Electric Energy Online (EET&D) article, Maximizing Microgrid Resilience Through Integrated Automation Strategies, Emerson’s Rick Kephart shares ways for businesses and other facilities to develop contingencies…

  • Making Sense of Cybersecurity

    Jim Cahill
    Identifying the right cybersecurity solutions can be overwhelming. It seems as though every week we’re alerted to a new cybersecurity breach impacting another industry. Unsurprisingly, organizations across the globe—particularly those in critical infrastructure such as power and water providers—are responding by quickly acting to better secure their operations and assets against external intrusion. However, there are…

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